‘EN Japanese Brasserie’: Lou Reed’s favourite restaurant in Manhattan
Few can claim the unofficial role of New York’s musical ambassador quite like Lou Reed.
There’s stiff competition. Boasting one of the richest musical heritages in the world, the city’s five boroughs have cultivated a steady stream of songsmiths and innovative scenes that have always ensured New York is forever pulling global cultural attention. Across Tin Pan Alley, jazz, Rat Pack Swing, punk, disco, hip-hop, and beyond, pop’s tapestry owes plenty to the city that never sleeps.
But just about trouncing them all is the former Velvet Underground frontman. Not just celebrating and capturing the soul of New York City, Reed dared to depict the urban milieu as it was, daubing his lyrical canvas with society’s fringes, with whom he also infrequently dwelled. ‘Walk on the Wild Side’s’ alluring transvestite, ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’s’ antsy drug buyer, or the warring couple that star in his Berlin rock opera—set in a different city but just as easily soaked up in the working-class immigrant neighbourhoods in any part of 1970s Manhattan.
New York has gone through seismic changes in the last 50 years, however. Rapid development and financialization of the city ‘cleaned’ the place up, invited the property vultures, and sparked the economic quagmire that the city’s working folk have become ever deeply mired in. Still, the city draws a fascination with its bustling cultural hub and potent history, even if Times Square has evolved into an urban theme attraction far removed from its edgier reputation years back.
Food’s good though. It’s a feature of New York that’ll never change, smattered with quality eateries from the high-class restaurant to the sidewalk vendor. Reed had become an enthusiastic customer of West Village’s EN Japanese Brasserie, first giving the izakaya bar his custom shortly after its opening in 2004 and returning to the establishment with a taste for their beef and fried chicken dishes.
Yet, a diabetes diagnosis forced a dietary shift. Keen to retain their regular customer, EN owner Reika Alexander and the head chef Abe Hiroki devised a new menu catering to Reed’s now limited grants, keeping sugar to a strict minimum and emphasising tofu, fish, grilled chicken, and plenty of vegetables. EN had struck gold. Before long, Red was requesting his custom dishes delivered to him as often as twice a day.
EN’s stature in Manhattan only grew, drawing celebrities of all ilk for years with its special atmosphere and simple but spot-hitting menu. As ever with New York, EN was forced to shut up shop in December 2024 after the Hines real estate company took control of the building’s management and informed Alexander that EN’s yearly rent would be doubled to the tune of approximately $920,000. After 20 years of operation, EN gave way to a new luxury dining spot from Daniel Humm, to the enthusiasm of nobody except the rich and tasteless.
Alexander spoke fondly of Reed, however, countering his reputation for prickly aloofness. “…a couple of weeks ago he told me that he loved eating our food because it made him feel really healthy,” she said, shortly after his death in 2013, before softly adding, “He was really sweet. I really miss him. I was hoping I could see him again.”
